Damascus teen was speeding in deadly October crash

Driver paid fines in crash that killed police captain's son

A Damascus teenager was driving 20 mph above the posted limit in the October crash that killed the son of a county police commander and seriously injured three others.

A police report on the crash states that Zachary Kimble, 18, a senior at Damascus High School, was driving at least 55 miles per hour — and possibly much faster — in a 35 mph zone on Oct. 20 when he lost control of the car on Hawkins Creamery Road and hit two trees. Ryan Didone, 15, a DHS sophomore, died several hours later at a Baltimore trauma center. The deadly crash happened as Kimble, Didone and three others traveled from a Young Life of Upper Montgomery County Christian youth group meeting to a Burger King 3 miles away. Kimble, who was 17 at the time, did not have legal permission to drive the teenagers without an experienced adult chaperone, according to conditions of his provisional driver's license. He was also uninsured, which is illegal for Maryland drivers, according to the report.

Police gave Kimble five traffic citations, including those for speeding and negligent driving. He pleaded guilty and paid $710 in fines Friday, according to court records and his attorney Thomas L. Heeney of Rockville.

"He's devastated; he's devastated by the death, he's devastated by the injuries," his lawyer said.

Police will not bring charges against Zachary's parents, Sheri and Scott Kimble, said Lt. Paul Starks, a county police spokesman. He would not elaborate on that decision.

Zachary Kimble broke his wrist in the crash.

"I think what was really disappointing for me was the fact that [Kimble's] parents are not being held accountable for their son's actions," said Ryan Didone's father, Capt. Thomas C. Didone, commander of the county police 5th District station. "The criminal phase is over. It's important that we move forward. However the civil aspect will be going on for years. My focus is now still on saving kids and preventing these tragedies from happening in the future, both as a parent and as the commander of the 5th District."

Zachary Kimble's family and the families of the teens who were riding in the car, including Ryan Didone's mother, Marlene Didone, declined comment on the charges.

"It's just a very sad case," said Stephen D. Weiss of Rockville, who represents 17-year-old Christopher Nicholson, who was a front-seat passenger. "Everybody is now dependent for compensation on their own policy, their own insurance motor coverage."

Lawsuits are expected in the case, according to Kimble's lawyer. According to an 11-page detailed report compiled by the Montgomery County Police Department's Collision Reconstruction Unit, Sheri Kimble gave her son permission to drive the 2000 Volvo V70 station wagon, knowing its registration was expired and that her son had received his provisional license less than three weeks earlier.

One hour after the crash, her husband, Scott Allan Kimble, called the family's insurer to add his son to their policy, said the police report. The report includes a statement from Bobby Patton, a Young Life leader, who told police that Zachary Kimble had driven to Young Life meetings in summer 2008, when he would have been driving without a license.

"There's no question that the Kimbles have been put on notice…," said Heeney. "Injured parties have hired counsel and intend to pursue a remedy in a civil lawsuit." According to Maryland law, they have three years in which to file.

Sixteen-year-old Brittany Jones, a DHS sophomore who was also in the car at the time of the crash, remains in rehabilitation, her parents said last week. Nicholson, a DHS senior and varsity basketball player, remains under doctors' care, said Weiss. The teenager had hoped to play Division III college basketball on an academic scholarship.

Nicholson, who suffered broken bones and a concussion, has no memory of the crash, the report said. He was trapped in the car as a fire burned in the engine compartment.

Kirstin Newport, a sophomore and junior varsity cheerleader, also suffered broken bones in the crash, according to her father. Now 16, she said in a signed statement to police that she and Jones told Kimble to slow down moments before the fiery collision. Newport knew Kimble was driving fast, "because she looked at the speedometer," investigators wrote in the Feb. 28 report concluding their investigation.

"Newport didn't remember the number, but the needle was to the right past the straight-up position, which places it in the area of 73 to 85," mph, the report said.

The driver of an oncoming car, Patricia Bass of Damascus, told police she thought Kimble was driving at least 70 mph going through a curve near Johnson Farm Road and she expected a head-on collision.

Police determined the curve could be turned at 66 mph or faster if a driver cut or hugged the corner.

When the Volvo left the road, it hit a tree head-on, investigators found, then went airborne and spun 180 degrees before its rear bumper hit a second tree. The car fell into a wooded ravine and caught fire.

Jones, Newport, Didone and Kimble were not wearing seat belts, the report said.